The Council is tightening up its procedures for checking that addresses given for schools applications are correct and permanent.
Families between the Commons have long complained about short term renters around Belleville and Honeywell pushing them out of places.
This year Honeywell infant school wrote to everyone who got a place based on distance asking for confirmation of their addresses and apparently found that 'a significant proportion...had moved into the area in the months preceding the closing date for applications'. Until now short term renting to get a place has been perfectly legal though.
To try and stop this the Council is introducing tougher rules to make it plain that only permanent addresses should be used. Next year's admissions brochure will say:
a. the address given on the application form must be the one at which the child is living permanently on the closing date for applications and this must be the address where the family normally lives.
b. parents are not permitted to use a temporary address to secure a school place for the child. A business address, a childminder's address
, or any address including an family member's address other than the child's permanent home will not be accepted. Proof of address will be sought if there is any doubt about the validity of the address given and it may be the subject of further investigation.
c. if a family move into a property temporarily to increase the chances of gaining a school place, the Council will use the permanent address for the purpose of the application.
d. if the family own a property but are living at and apply from a different address, the Council will assume that the second address is temporary and that the property they own is where the child ordinarily lives. Where the owned property is being renovated, this will still be considered the family's permanent address. Evidence will otherwise be required that the property has been disposed of; and
e. if a family own more than one property, the Council will request further evidence to demonstrate where they normally live to determine the address we will use for the child's application.
The Council will liase with schools to keep a record of addresses which crop up on applications frequently and will check Council Tax records to find families who have moved recently, who will then be scrutinised further.